Two Hearts, One Processor
by DrYuriMom
Summary: Iona's rescue comes at a price...
1. The Deal

**Two Hearts, One Processor  
The Deal**

{I-401} Security string confirmed. Contact TAKAO acknowledged. Data link established.

{Takao} **Command**: Set flagship = TAKAO

Iona readily accepted the command. It was a routine action within the Fog to designate one member of a unit as flagship. Up until her complete defeat at the hands of her sisters, that role had been Iona's for the Blue Steel "fleet" of two vessels and five mental models. Now bereft of her vessel, she was in no position to expect that would be the case any longer. Like Haruna, Kirishima, and even Hyuuga, she was now 'beached' as the humans put it.

By granting Takao flagship status over her, it permitted Takao immediate access to her log and status databases and condition monitors. Free access to those resources would shave hundreds of milliseconds off the time it would take Takao to be brought up to date as opposed to the heavy cruiser being required to query and Iona to respond to every separate record.

Zero point four seconds later Iona realized her potential blunder, but it was too late. Takao's access to Iona's logs included every detail of her time with Gunzou up until her entering standby mode as she directed her mental model's nanoparticles to complete the life support systems of the capsule she had fashioned to keep her captain safe for as long as the man could manage to stay functioning. Iona was acutely aware of Takao's particular interest in those last ten minutes before the submarine had entered standby mode, but she had no sense of Takao's motivations.

Iona already knew Takao desired Gunzou for her own. Takao had made that clear, and an inquiry with Hyuuga had confirmed the cruiser's logic. Although Iona had no ability to directly influence events now, she sequestered eighty percent of her processing resources from her flagship's access and committed it to simulations of what could be expected from Takao next.

The simulations were still inconclusive zero point five seconds later when she received another command from Takao, this time a command which engaged automatically given Iona's status now as a subordinate vessel.

{Takao} **Command**: Enter dialog simulation

The nothingness in which Iona had placed herself to preserve all power for life support dissolved into the familiar salon that had been established by Supreme Flagship Yamato as the default environment for mental model dialog simulations. She found herself sitting in a chair with a porcelain cup of hot tea, by the smell of it chamomile, between her hands. The cup felt hot between her fingers as steam wafted up from the rim, and oddly enough she found the sensation comforting after the cold that had surrounded her and her captain when last she had a physical body…even if that cold hadn't directly affected her.

A breeze blew past her face, rustling her long hair. The scent of honeysuckle replaced the tea in her nostrils and the sounds of bird song tickled her ears. She had to marvel at the incredible realism of the simulation. No previous dialog simulation she had participated in had anywhere near this level of detail.

From one moment to the next, she was no longer alone. Takao stood on the other side of the table, her arms crossed, looking down with a grimace.

"Takao…is Gunzou…still functional…" Iona's voice wavered and then trailed off before the taller girl could speak. Iona had hoped Takao would have reciprocated access and made Iona privy to the data being gathered by Takao, or even just the data from the capsule Iona herself had fashioned, but after one full second since contact had been made Iona was still completely blind to the world outside the confines of her processor.

Takao's grimace deepened and she turned her head to the side.

"There really is no place for me, is there…" Takao remarked softly. Iona had been introduced to the concept of a 'rhetorical remark' by the humans who were her crew, and she determined with 97% certainty that this statement was intended as such. Iona chose to remain silent. Her simulations suggested this was a critical moment, but they provided no guidance beyond that.

Despite her efforts to predict Takao's next action, she was entirely unprepared for what happened next.

{Takao} **Command**: Grant root access to TAKAO security string

The command was beyond the scope of Takao's role as flagship, and therefore it was up to Iona to accept or reject it. In theory Supreme Flagship Yamato had root access to all Fog vessels, but that feature had already been disabled in Iona when she had awoken in the Yokosuka docks two years ago. Iona had never since granted root to anyone, although Hyuuga's security settings came very close to it. Iona trusted Hyuuga with her life, despite the peculiar obsession the battleship now had for her. For the second time since her sinking, the concept of fear manifested within her as she examined the risks of granting root access to her new flagship.

Iona cocked her head to one size quizzically, her expression classic Fog – completely neutral. "Explain your logic for requesting root access, Takao."

Takao shrugged. "It's the only way we both get what we want."

"Want?"

"Don't toy with me, Iona!" The fisting of Takao's hands at this demand was not lost on the observant scout, even if the cruiser's face was still partially obscured. "You have Chihaya Gunzou and will not yield him. You made that clear by your actions before you entered standby. I want Chihaya Gunzou and will not yield that desire."

Takao was silent after that, so Iona provided the most likely endpoint of current events as suggested by her current simulations. "So your intention is to attempt to overwrite me, using root access to prevent Gunzou from detecting your manipulation, to change the dynamics of the situation."

Takao turned her head back and smirked to her rival. No words passed between them, but data flowed from Takao into Iona as the cruiser showed her cards. Takao was running the same simulations that Iona was performing in her sequestered space. The numbers were remarkably similar, so Iona reciprocated. The two human representations locked eyes as they compared every facet of the combined data.

One point seven seconds of objective time passed.

"So our numbers corroborate," Iona summarized within the simulation. "My data suggests an 87% chance of Gunzou detecting any manipulation on your part, with your data showing the chance being 92%. These aren't the only factors, and accounting for the others reduces your chances of success even more. You must acknowledge any course where you survive intact and I do not will result in a greater than 95% chance of a suboptimal outcome for you."

"I do," Takao responded immediately. "But I also recognise we must act quickly if Chihaya Gunzou is to survive. He needs medical care, something he cannot get nine thousand meters below the ocean surface. In the time it would take for me to return this capsule to the surface using Hyuuga's maintenance mech, he will likely cease functioning. Neither of us will accept that outcome."

Iona concurred with the assessment based on the objective data Takao was now freely sharing. She nodded, encouraging Takao to continue.

"I propose something radical. I have already begun dissolving my vessel and directing my nanoparticles to our current location…"

"That's irrational," Iona blurted, rising partway out of her chair and interrupting the taller girl. The tea cup still in Iona's hands sloshed and translucent liquid spilled onto the edge of the table between them.

"Says the one who defied her captain's orders and sacrificed herself for…love is it?" Takao raised an eyebrow and stared down Iona, who sank back into her chair. The tea cup magically refilled and the spilled tea vanished.

"Gunzou wants you as his vessel," Takao continued, her eyes narrowing as she spoke. "I don't understand it, but I acknowledge it. His…happiness…can only be ensured if you survive intact, and the only one who can make that happen…" she paused before coming to the obvious completion of her logic, "…is me."

Iona could only nod again.

"You can easily validate that we lack the facilities or knowledge to reassign all my nanoparticles to you. Hyuuga isn't here, and even if she was, there wouldn't be nearly enough time to make it happen in this environment before Chihaya Gunzou would certainly perish."

"You propose we merge," Iona provided.

Takao leaned over the table, her hands on the surface to each side supporting her. "Yes, that's exactly what I am proposing. It's the only option that will allow you to reform your vessel and get Chihaya Gunzou the care he needs in the timeframe required. If our processors are merged, the nanoparticles will become accessible to you, freely usable by default."

"Then why grant you root?" Iona challenged, taking a sip of her tea and hoping she could find an argument to maintain control of the merger she now concluded was the course of action most likely to continue Gunzou's existence. "Wouldn't it be the other way around?"

"My processor hasn't been hobbled like yours has been. I have developed a design already. Among other things, it has the advantage of uniquely keying our combined nanoparticles such that neither your sisters nor mine would be able to achieve the access you suffered with your hull. I also am used to working with my nanoparticles, so it is logical for me to perform the actions since they will form 99.7% of our new form." Takao leaned in closer to Iona, placing their faces at eye level and only a few dozen centimeters apart. "I'm ready; you're not. Any delay places Chihaya Gunzou's life in further peril. Are you willing to accept that risk, or will you provide me root access and trust that I want what is best for our captain?"

Iona spent a few moments longer running simulations and had to concur that the cruiser's logic was sound. Her proposal was the best. Still, Iona hesitated. The action Takao proposed would probably be irreversible. Even Hyuuga would likely be unable to separate the two enough to allow them to be made independent entities again. At best, they would be one processor with two cores and parallel identities, assuming Takao was even able to achieve that. At worst, they would become a single personality with unpredictable results.

But to do nothing was unacceptable.

She had already decided that Gunzou must live at any cost. Whatever their other motivations, the overarching demand for their captain's survival was something she and Takao shared. If allowing Takao to share whatever future she had with the man was the price for that survival, logic demanded she accept that price despite her unease.

{Iona} **Command Accepted**. Root access granted to TAKAO

* * *

*****Author's Note*****

This is a continuation of "He Will Live", although I chose to make it a separate story since the focus will be different. I expect two chapters. What comes next will depend on how Ep 12 of Arpeggio wraps up.

To be honest, I like the manga a lot more than the anime. I may write a story in the mangaka's source universe before my muse tires of this franchise.


	2. The Postmortem

**The Postmortem**

_Floating._

_I'm buoyant._

It was a familiar feeling Iona had never expected to feel again. The cushion of water beneath her. The sensation of rolling ocean waves caressing her hull.

Her first action was to check her chronometer. Eleven point nine eight minutes had elapsed that she couldn't account for. Her last memory was of Takao accessing her processor via the root pathway.

_I feel strange._

Before she could focus further attention on the oddness of her body, she became aware of her mental model again.

_Hardness. I'm lying against a flat surface…_

She quickly programmed a subroutine and dedicated a portion of her processor to further examination of her vessel, but a mixture of anticipation and dread pushed her attention to the wondrous but limited interface of her mental model. She walled off the subroutine now operating her ship so nothing would interrupt her much more important task.

_Gunzou…_

Despite her mental model returning data identical to before, she still struggled to reconnect fully to it. Her processor felt…foreign somehow. Her 'Iona' form seemed like an ill-fitting garment for her now. Her connection to her human representation initially felt like she was trying to move through the honey she had been introduced to by Shizuka for sweetening her tea. As she managed to start moving, though, things began to feel more natural.

She moved her arms to push herself off the deck below her and blinked her eyes to take in her surroundings.

_Gunzou!_

Her captain laid safely near her, on his back and seeming none the worse for the wear. She knew she could initiate sensors and immediately know his status, but she felt afraid to do so. She wanted to know he was safe, but what if he was…

Although her movement was becoming freer every moment, the combination of her anxiety and the unfamiliar interface caused her to move slowly…hesitantly…to her first friend. Unsure what she would do if she failed to feel anything, she leaned over his face once again, seeking for breath. She had been his breath for an indeterminate period of time. Had she succeeded?

A smile spread across her face as the movement of carbon-dioxide enriched mammalian breath caressed her cheek.

"Gunzou!"

Only now did she engage diagnostic subroutines to assess the human's health in detail. His medical condition, although better than it had been when she had ceased all but life support functions, was still tenuous. At the very least, the man was anemic from blood loss. He needed medical attention. She reconnected to the portion of her processor which had been tasked with assessing her new vessel and immediately was confronted with a string of communication attempts from her Blue Steel sisters.

From the messages, she quickly gathered that her strange self-appraisal wasn't an anomaly. Her new form, designed by Takao, was radically different from her previous one. In addition to being well over twice as massive as before, even after she'd incorporated portions of Hyuuga, she now sported additional energy weapons, improved armor and engines, and a serious increase in standoff weaponry.

She also learned that her human crew was waiting just a few yards from her hull, including Sou and Shizuka who, between them, had demonstrated almost physician-level medical skill in the past.

_{I-401} Flagship Command – All Blue Steel Vessels: Initiate Concept Comm dialog simulation_

While her mental model continued to watch over her captain, her awareness now focused itself on the concept of a peaceful gazebo with her sisters. Once again she was seated in a whitewashed aluminum chair at a glass-topped table with a warm cup of chamomile tea resting in her hands. Just as before, birds were chirping and the smell of wildflowers competed in her nostrils with the tea beneath her nose.

"Iona-oneesama!" Iona struggled valiantly, without much success, to keep from spilling hot liquid on her lap as her shoulders were roughly embraced and reddish-brown curls twirled before her eyes. "You're safe!"

"Have you determined that objectively, Hyuuga?" a huskier voice this time, also behind her. "So far I can't separate the Takao from the Iona elements. It may be you're smothering Takao for all we know."

The admonition from Haruna did seem to take some of the zeal from the woman currently glomped to her. Iona turned her face to look into Hyuuga's eyes. "Hyuuga, you spilled my tea," she noted calmly, allowing just a hint of annoyance into her voice.

"It really is you, oneesama!" Hyuuga's embrace tightened again and more tea escaped its intended container and dribbled between her legs. "No one can replicate your special love for me!"

_{Haruna} Command: Permit Haruna, Kirishima, and Hyuuga unfettered access to logs since separation from rest of Blue Steel fleet_

_{I-401} Command accepted_

Iona immediately accepted the request and permitted her fleet sisters full access to her recent logs and the processing power necessary to run whatever queries they desired. She presented no resistance to their data comparison heuristics as the other Fog processors examined the data, looking for inconsistencies that would suggest corruption, intentional or otherwise.

_{Hyuuga} Security string - diagnostic level – TAKAO_

Iona was surprised that she immediately responded to Hyuuga's login to her processor using keys that had been meant for Takao. Although it wasn't true root access, the connection the Blue Steel processors allowed Hyuuga was 'sub awareness', meaning she couldn't trace what Hyuuga was doing right now. The level was necessary for Hyuuga to perform upgrades on her sisters, but it still felt strange when put into action.

_{Hyuuga} Security string – diagnostic level – I-401_

Iona again felt herself respond to the request. She was unsure what exactly Hyuuga was looking for, but she couldn't think straight at the moment. She was no longer aware of sensation from any source – her concept comm, her mental model, or even her vessel. Even her connection to her processor cycles was inhibited. It was a strange, disembodied feeling, like her processor at the moment was not her own.

An awareness made itself known to her in the nothingness, communicating at the level of pure data. _"I'm doing a low level diagnostic which is impinging on your emotional and self-awareness subroutines. It will only be a moment. I know it's disquieting, but it's best we find out now just what that baka tsundere managed to make of the two of you. I'm still holding you and won't let go, I promise."_

"_That's supposed to be reassuring, Hyuuga?"_

"_Of course!"_ Iona wasn't sure how she knew the battleship winked at her with those words, but she somehow did.

Just as quickly as the strange feeling came on, it was gone and Iona once again was aware of the dialog simulation. Her teacup was now safely on the table before her and it was like the tea drenching her skirt had never fallen there. She turned her head to see Hyuuga, Kirishima, and Haruna talking quietly a few meters away from her.

Unsure what to think of them holding a private conversation about her, she decided to trust her sisters and focused her attention on the outside world. She manifested an opening into her vessel near where her crew, her sisters' mental models, and their precious cargo were waiting on three lifeboats. She directed some nanomaterials to the purpose of being a crane to assist the boats into her hull, quickly writing a subroutine to operate it outside her awareness. She then refocused her attention on the concept comm since weeks of subjective time could pass in the dialog simulation for every second that passed objectively outside.

"You're talking about Takao, aren't you?" Iona prompted as she reached out and lifted her tea cup to her lips and took a long sip of the soothing beverage. Her own diagnostics strongly suggested that her personality subroutines were intact. It was clear from her struggles using her processor that her circuitry was very much different from before, but she was getting more and more adept every cycle at using the new configuration. But it was already apparent that she did not have access to her entire processor. There were two union cores now, plus a main processor that appeared to be shared. She existed in only one of those cores. She could see the pathways to the other one, but it wasn't accessible to her.

The conversation away from her stopped and the three others made their way to join her at the table. Cups appeared for the others as they sat down. Kirishima settled on Haruna's lap and removed her bear's head to allow the human head representation to manifest while they talked.

"Yes, we were," Hyuuga finally confirmed after taking a drink of her own tea. Peppermint by the smell of it.

"So what is the verdict, Hyuuga? I don't detect any significant elements of Takao in my own routines, but I don't have the benefit of low level diagnostics. How badly did the tsundere heavy cruiser mess up?"

Hyuuga shrugged with a sigh. "I'm not really sure. It looks like she started something but was unable to finish it given the processing power left over after allocating enough for your personal routines and the shared processing space necessary to fully operate your vessel at peak combat efficiency. She's there, but…" Hyuuga cocked her head to the side and seemed lost in thought a moment. Iona sensed Hyuuga was accessing her processor, but couldn't tell much beyond that.

Then Hyuuga giggled. "That foolish…she built a wall but forgot to include a door. Then didn't leave herself enough materials to fix the problem. Iona oneesama, this may feel strange for a moment, but I have an idea. Forgive me for asking, but I'll need Takao's root access to do it. If you don't have it, then set one up. I think you'll find her core will recognize you as self."

Iona did as Hyuuga suggested and discovered the battleship was right. She established a private data connection with Hyuuga. Before she could do anything else, she felt something snap in her head…like a rubber band snapping her mind. She blinked and was immediately aware of another presence in the room.

"And lo the dead shall rise…" Haruna deadpanned.

"Shut up, Haruna," Takao growled as she pulled up a chair, manifested a double shot mocha, and took a big swig of the beverage. She knocked her long, blue hair back absently with her free hand before continuing. "And before any of you say anything else, yes that was the DUMBEST thing I ever did. Next topic, please?"

* * *

*****Author's Notes*****

I have a few more chapters in me. I'm enjoying dealing with the merged sub and heavy cruiser.


End file.
